It’s a welcome home game for the Nuggets, who, like the Spurs, have spent an inordinate amount of time on the road during the early season. Indeed, they’ve spent even more time in airplanes than the weary Spurs, playing a league-high 18 road games so far.

The Nuggets seem to be an exceptional home team. But with such a small sample size, we can’t really be sure. This much is certain – they’ll have to be significantly better than the last meeting, when the Spurs pelted them with 16 3-pointers on just 27 attempts. It extended a 10-game stretch between the two teams in which the Spurs are 8-2 while averaging 111 points.

The Nuggets had been expected by some to contend for the Western Conference title with the addition of addition of Andre Iguodala. But the pieces have yet to fit. Iguodala has a 13.5 Player Efficiency Rating, the lowest since his rookie season, while the Nuggets only just climbed over .500 with three victories in their last four contests.

Last Friday’s 99-94 home victory over Memphis marked the high point of their campaign. It was a rare defensive gem from the Nuggets, who typically struggle to contain their opponents. But they’re showing signs of coming around on that end – something they’ll be hoping to continue as they begin a stretch in which they play 18 of their next 25 at home.

Injury report

SF Wilson Chandler (hip), out; PG Julyan Stone (hip), out.

What to watch

* Point guard Ty Lawson is still struggling to get his game in order. With the exception of steals and assists, his production is down in virtually every other category. Lawson’s inconsistency was on display earlier this month, when he followed up a 32-point effort against Atlanta with just two against Indiana.

* JaVale McGee is something of an NBA punchline, thanks to flights of fancy like this. Even his own coach doesn’t trust him, giving him just 20 minutes per game despite a huge contract extension. When McGee does play, he produces: He’s averaging nearly 20/10 per 36 minutes, and his 23.9 PER is ninth in the league.

* Denver is one of the best transition teams in the league, ranking fifth with 17.1 fastbreak points per game and seventh in pace with 93 possessions per game. They also rank first in offensive rebound percentage at 32.9 percent. Both strengths coincide with perhaps the Spurs’ two biggest weaknesses on defense.